Here we have, if I recall correctly, the shortest book in the entire Bible, at least if you count number of verses, and it does literally take only 2 min to read, at the most.
Short book, so short comments, as I don't want to turn this into an intense Bible study:
Written by the apostle John again, but without his name - for reasons mentioned in the last epistle, he writes to believers that he knows, and hopes to visit shortly. There is some debate whether 'the elect lady and her children' is someone in particular that John knows, or whether it is a pseudonym for the church in another town (this was written from Ephesus). I am not certain, although some of the letter seems to support the idea of it being a particular person. It makes only little difference, since he is addressing believers in any case.
Love and truth are inextricably linked in this epistle. (If you don't know what inextricably means, it means basically 'so tangled and entwined and together that it is impossible to separate'). Love is again linked to obedience to the commands of God, and truth is emphasised in contrast to the deceit of false teachers - here particularly those that teach Christ was not truly human. So important is the truth of God, that anyone teaching anything that is a distortion of the basic, fundamental, saving truths - they cannot even be greeted by a Christian, we cannot benefit or aid them in any way, not even being friendly to them, because they dare to corrupt the doctrine of God.
It is important that our love is linked with the 'right truth'. Those that are deceived and love a lie, thinking it true, are in danger of becoming deceivers and false teachers themselves! We must ALWAYS come back to the Word, the Divinely inspired Scriptures, which we know to be true, and seek the Holy Spirit's help in understanding His truth - that we might live out the love of God, and not the fraudulent love of a lie.
Lord, we thank You for Your Word of truth, preserved for us throughout many generations, and translated into a form we can readily understand. May we stand firm on Your truth, and be willing to oppose those who speak lies, who teach anything contrary to the truth. Those with minor distortions or with misguided motives, help us to approach in love and show them out of Your Word the Truth. Those who are set in their ways, teaching a contrary gospel, give us the discernment to recognise these despite their deceit, and not show them any acceptance or friendly greeting. Lord, we know that You desire all men to come to You and receive the free gift of salvation, and I pray that You would convict the hearts of those that teach contrary to Your Word. Help them to realise the error of their ways, and come to you, whether it is by the preaching by one of Your servants, or their own reading of Your Word, or even an argument or discussion with someone after they teach who challenges them that they are not preaching Your Word. If this may not be, Lord, knowing that You are in control of all things, I pray that You might limit their impact. Deafen the ears of those who hear these false teachers - make their memories of the false teachings flow in one ear and out the other without taking root. Help them to see that the false teaching is indeed false, and bring others into their lives that will teach them Your Truth in love. Amen.
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